piece of news: Central Michigan University and Field Neurosciences Institute want to create a medical campus right here in Saginaw.
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Central Michigan University and Field Neurosciences Institute want to create a medical campus right here in Saginaw.

This one would train future doctors, as in the last half of med school. And, it could include a cutting-edge research clinic.

On its face, this might sound eerily like the echoes of promises past. Remember the early '80s, when Amlea Inc. of Toronto planned a $55 million twin tower downtown office building? Or the $14 million Sawmill Theme Park near the Johnson Street Bridge in 1984? Alfred DiMora and his $2 million sports car plant in '86?

Then NASA's Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network -- CIESIN -- in 1992 had plans for a $50 million project with 1,200 high-paying jobs and 40,000 annual tourists. The next year brought hopes of a $72 million federal accounting center and as many as 10,000 jobs. Most recently, Daniel E. Phelps -- an ex-con who called himself His Grace Bishop Frumentius -- proposed a $56 million East Side housing project that never saw the light of day.

In fact, except for CIESIN -- which existed here as a mere shell of what NASA proposed before it moved away -- none of them did. Politics, egos and fraud played parts in some of the failures. Poor planning and absentee developers had roles in others.

So now it's a medical school and a "Michigan Clinic" to rival Mayo.

This time, though, there's a big difference. It's called credibility. And local interest and ownership.

Michael Rao, CMU's dynamic president who cites an impending doctor shortage as the engine pulling the med school train, says "we are looking at this very, very seriously. I believe firmly in my heart that it's critical."

Rao took his cue from Saginaw's Dr. Sam Kottamasu, a member of CMU's Board of Trustees. The two were to talk today to Saginaw County leaders about their plan.
Field Neurosciences, meanwhile, is a going medical concern that enjoys an impeccable reputation.

It's the kind of outfit that does what it says it will do. It conducts research with Chicago's Northwestern University, Atlanta's Emory University, Saginaw Valley State University and CMU.